Grab a pitchfork and storm the walls!
Whether you’re a revolutionary or an
aristocrat, there’ something for you in
this celebration of all things french!
Don’t forget to dress as a French peasant
or aristocrat!
15th Annual
Eastern State Penitentiary
Bastille Day Festival
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
Fairmount French Fling Weekend
Thursday, July 9 – Sunday, July 12, 2009
Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!
Thursday, July 9
Fairmount French Fling Bar Crawl
Starts at 7:00pm at:
Fairmount French Fling Bar Crawl
Starts at 7:00pm at:
The Belgian Café – 21st & Green
Bishop’s Collar – 24th and Fairmount
Bridgid’s Bar and Restuarant – 24th and Meredith Street
Jack’s Firehouse – 21st and Fairmount
London Grill – 23rd and Fairmount
Rembrandt’s – 23rd and Aspen
Urban Saloon – 2120 Fairmount Avenue
$3 Kronenbourg 1664 Beer Specials – Buy a Kronenbourg and get a French pick-up line pine, collect all four!
Visit Mugshots for a variety of mini-quiches, served with a side salad for only $4.95! Cheddar BLT, Black Bean & Pepperjack, and Cheesy Baked Potato!
At The Belgian Café, use your Kronenbourg 1664 to wash down the mussels, burgers, vegan fare and Belgian-style pomme fries with our famous Monk’s Bourbon Mayo.
Stop in at Jack’s Firehouse on Thursday evening for a Kronenbourg 1664 with proceeds benefiting Eastern State Penitentiary.
La Creperie du Trio - Join us as we pay homage to the crepe.
Friday, July 10
Fairmount Goes French!
Fairmount Goes French!
French wine tasting dinners, French wine specials, Kronenbourg 1664 specials, and French menu tems at participating Fairmount Restaurants and Bars.
Friday is Family Film night at Mugshots, all year round. Come Learn the basic French you need to communicate with this easy-to-use interactive language program designed for beginners.
Visit Jack’s Firehouse for french-themed menu specials.
Friday night French Trivia at the London Grill bar for prizes! Kronenbourg specials and the Marie Anoinette cocktail special!
The Belgian Café will feature crab and sweet pea risotto, roasted beet and Goat cheese napoleon, Provencale mussels with leeks, tomatoes, garlic and cream and seared duck breast with dried cherry glaze with grilled asparagus and potato au gratin.
Trio features 2 Tasting Menus - One for the Bourgeoisie and one for the Aristocrats
Cinema Francaise from Friends of Eastern State Penitentiary Park
Free Film Screenings on the lawn behind Eastern State Penitentiary
8:00 – Pepe Le Pew Cartoons
8:30 – The Aristocats
Saturday, July 11
Bastille Day Street Festival
2:00 – 6:00pm
Free!
Register your ~4-8 year old in the Tricycle Tour de France, prizes from LifeSport, Fairmount Art Center and Franklin Square for all pre-registered kids, and best French-decorated bikes – contact tricyclerace@easternstate.org.
Bring your own tricycle, bike or big wheel.
Bastille Day Street Festival
2:00 – 6:00pm
Free!
- Tours of the Bastille (@ Eastern State Penitentiary - Admission fee: $12)
- Live music from Musette
- 2pm Fairmount Pet Shoppe Pet Parade
- Activities for Kids including Faimount Art Center Arts & Crafts, Face Painting
- 3pm Tricycle Tour de France
- Exhibit Tents: Mouton Cadet & Wine School of Philadelphia French Wine Tips, How to Say it in French, Book Haven’s French Books, Whole Foods’ French Cheese Tips, and Whole Foods’ Fresh Flower’s
- French fare including crêpes from Rembrandt’s, baguette sandwiches, pastries and desserts from Fairmount Restaurants and Bars.
Register your ~4-8 year old in the Tricycle Tour de France, prizes from LifeSport, Fairmount Art Center and Franklin Square for all pre-registered kids, and best French-decorated bikes – contact tricyclerace@easternstate.org.
Bring your own tricycle, bike or big wheel.
Storming of the Bastille!
5:30pm – ???
5:30pm – ???
Grab a pitchfork and storm the walls! Armed troops will capture Marie Antoinette (tossing over 2,000 Butterscotch Krimpets from the prison’ medieval towers), and, ignoring her mocking cries of “Let them eat TastyKake”, drag the monarch to a real, functioning guillotine and deliver her into the hands of the “Executioner”. The crowd will decide her fate!
Marie Antoinette will be portrayed by Terry McNally, co-owner of Fairmount‘s London Grill. The Executioner will be portrayed by Jan Zarkin, owner of Rembrandt‘s. The French revolutionaries will be portrayed by reenactors from the Old Fort Mifflin Historical Society.
But anyone can start a revolution! The public is invited to attend the celebration dressed as French peasants or aristocrats!
Twilight Tours of Eastern State Penitentiary
6:30pm – 8:00pm
Admission: $10.00 Adults $5.00 Kids (7-12)
6:30pm – 8:00pm
Admission: $10.00 Adults $5.00 Kids (7-12)
The penitentiary will reopen after the storming of the Bastille for rare evening tours! This is the only time evening tours will be offered this season.
Tours last about 20 minutes, and are meant to be a quick introduction to the penitentiary and its history.
Bastille Day “After Parties”!
6:30pm – ???
6:30pm – ???
After the Storming, the entire neighborhood of Fairmount will feature Revolutionary happenings as area restaurants and businesses celebrate all night long!
Reservations are highly recommended for dinner.
Visit Mugshots on Saturday at our outdoor tent for French Sodas, organic limonade, French Mint Iced Tea, and a variety of croissants!
After the "guillotine" has fallen, London Grill will help on-lookers regain their appetites with champagne, Marie Antoinette inspired-cocktails and a special menu of festive French dishes created by Executive Chef Michael McNally, including French culinary mainstays Coq au Vin and Feuilletes D'Escargots, snails with aniseed cream sauce served in puff pastry, Aubergines Farcies, eggplant stuffed with bread, eggs and Gruyere cheese; and London Grill’s own house-made charcuterie. French Cream Puffs will be available as well, paying playful homage to the busty queen.
The Belgian Café will feature crab and sweet pea risotto, roasted beet and Goat cheese napoleon, Provencale mussels with leeks, tomatoes, garlic and cream and seared duck breast with dried cherry glaze with grilled asparagus and potato au gratin.
Visit Jack’s Firehouse for french-themed menu specials.
Trio features 2 Tasting Menus - One for the Bourgeoisie and one for the Aristocrats
Sunday, July 12
French Champagne Brunch at participating Fairmount establishments.
For Sunday brunch at Mugshots, order your egg sandwich on a croissant, or take home a dozen! Mix between plain, chocolate, and almond---made locally by French Bakery Au Fournil.
The Belgian Café will be serving up Brunch with Croque Madame, Eggs Benedict, Charcuterie mussels and more Belgian/French inspired fare!
Trio features 2 Tasting Menus - One for the Bourgeoisie and one for the Aristocrats
Book your dinner reservations now!
The Belgian Café
The Belgian Café celebrates Fairmount’s Storming of the Bastille, the Start of the French Revolution.
Belgium, a country of texture and contrasts with big cities, small villages, coastal lands and mountains,
finally got rid of those Austrians after the French Revolution and became annexed by France, whose food and wine
was so much better. Strong French & Flemish influences are constantly vying for control in this small country
with beer being the unifier. Beer is as important to Belgian culture as wine is to the French. And baby, we love
those Belgian beers! We also offer an amazing selection of beers from the rest of the world including several great
French craft “bieres”. Sit back, relax and enjoy. Cheers!
Bishop's Collar
Relax after the Storming with great food and drink specials at the Bishop’s Collar!
Bridgid’s
Bridgid’s is a cozy, European-style bar and restaurant, the first establishment in Philadelphia to
specialize in Belgian beers. We continue to provide our customers with a wide variety of draft and bottle beers.
Food focuses on Home-style comfort food, slow food and American Peasant food. Basically, not your average
pub food - we don’t have sandwiches or burgers. A concentration of clean fresh flavors with an emphasis on American classics.
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site
Tour Philadelphia's own Bastille!
Fairmount Art Center
A creative resource for individuals, families, and the community.
Fairmount Pet Shoppe
Fairmount Pet Shoppe offers quality pet products and nutritious foods selected with your pet's health and happiness in mind. We are located in pet-friendly Fairmount across the street from the Eastern State Penitentiary. Since 2005, Fairmount Pet Shoppe has been a favorite neighborhood destination for both pets and pet lovers alike. Stop in and visit us sometime!
Jack's Firehouse
Jack’s Firehouse, set in a 19th Century Firehouse, is celebrating 19 years of truly distinctive and flavorful food
from one of the great chefs of America! *Featuring the award winning food of nationally renowned Chef Jack McDavid.
Jack’s Firehouse is committed to using the finest and freshest homemade and locally grown products, providing a true
Philadelphia dining experience. Jack’s offers a unique setting with an elegant old neighborhood feel.
London Grill
The guillotine can’t keep Marie from hosting a Bastille Day after-party at London Grill! We'll be grilling sausages, sipping Pommery “POP” champagne or Kronenbourg beer and listening to live French music. Details on our website.
Luigi’s Pizza Fresca
Because of our “Fresh Ideas in Pizza”, Luigi’s Pizza Fresca is more than just a pizza place.
Luigi's Pizza Fresca is an upscale, gourmet pizza establishment voted Best of Philly in 2007.
Mugshots
Winner of the SBN’s Triple Bottom Line award, Mugshots is a socially conscious café with an extensive
fair-trade drink menu and a local food menu consisting of soups, salads, & sandwiches made with
free-range & organic ingredients, bought from local farmers whenever possible. Mugshots received
“Best of Philly” by Philadelphia Magazine and was voted the City’s Best Coffeehouse by AOL City Guide in 2005 and 2008.
National Constitution Center
Join the National Constitution Center from 2 – 5 p.m. to learn more about NAPOLÉON –
a new exhibit about the private life of the Emperor and his influence on the United States
and the world. Younger “French Revolutionaries” can stop by the Center’s tent and make a
Laurel Leaf Crown, worn by Napoléon on the day of his coronation, and an Imperial Bee Pin –
the French symbol for royalty. Don’t miss NAPOLÉON at the National Constitution Center, now
through September 7th. Visit www.constitutioncenter.org
for tickets and information!
Rembrandt's
Join us at Rembrandt's as we celebrate French Independence over four days. $3.00 Kronenbourg specials all four days. Friday features a $34.94 French prix-fix dinner including a glass of champagne. The Bastille Day After-Party features live music from “The Guys with Ties” on the sidewalk And of course another die hard effort once again by me, Jan Zarkin (the guillotiner), to behead the notorious and unscrupulous, and might I add unsavory, Marie Antionette. It's a fun time for all.
Trio
Enjoy the creativity of our staff as Trio offers French specials throughout the Fairmount French Fling Weekend. Check www.TrioBYOB.com for more details.
Urban Saloon
Urban Saloon’s goal is to provide a fun, comfortable environment no matter what facet we are taking on that day. Football, Brunch, DJ's, Dinners, Happy hour, Cookies with Santa - we provide an environment that everyone can fit into!
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc.